Baby, baby! Amy Grant coming to Canton Palace Theatre in September

Ed Balint, The Repository
·2 min read
Amy Grant will perform on Sept. 22 at Canton Palace Theatre.
Amy Grant will perform on Sept. 22 at Canton Palace Theatre.
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CANTON − Amy Grant, known for her '90s pop radio hits, will be in Stark County on Sept. 22, performing at the Canton Palace Theatre.

Crossing over from contemporary Christian music into the mainstream, Grant's commercial zenith was her 1991 album, "Heart in Motion," which included the hit, "Baby, Baby," which reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts. Other popular songs included "Every Heartbeat," "Good for Me" and the ballad "That's What Love Is For."

Tickets, $40, $50, $55 and $125, are on sale online at http://cantonpalacetheatre.org or by calling the Palace Theatre box office at 330-454-8172. The show is presented by Latshaw Productions.

Grant's tour includes June dates in North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama, as well as other summer concerts, before shows in New York, Maryland and Canton in September. Her tour is scheduled through the fall.

More: Amy Grant bringing 'Baby, Baby' and more to Kent State Tuscarawas

More: Summer music guide: Glenfest, Spring Hill, Canal Fulton, Gervasi, Stark Parks, Massillon

Grant tells the story of 'Baby, Baby'

During a 2021 phone interview promoting her concert at the Performing Arts Center at Kent State University at Tuscarawas, Grant recalled her first impressions of the melody that became "Baby, Baby."

"The brilliance of that song is the music and the production by Keith Thomas," she said. "He was so generous in letting me write the lyrics. I could have sung the phone book to that melody, but all I know is when he first sent me the track, saying, 'Would you like to write a lyric to this?,' I couldn't stop listening to it – it was so fresh, (and) I was so enchanted with this song."

The song is among her bevy of awards, including multiple Grammys and more than 20 Dove Awards. Grant was the first contemporary Christian music artist to have a platinum album and the first to reach No. 1 on the pop charts.

Amy Grant's breakthrough commercial album was the 1991 release, "Heart in Motion," which featured the hit songs "Baby, Baby," "Every Heartbeat" and "That's What Love Is For."
Amy Grant's breakthrough commercial album was the 1991 release, "Heart in Motion," which featured the hit songs "Baby, Baby," "Every Heartbeat" and "That's What Love Is For."

The power of live music

During the 2021 interview with The Canton Repository, Grant spoke of her appreciation for performing live again following pandemic restrictions.

"The power of music just to connect us to our stories, to connect us to each other really is amazing," she said.

".... It's important to keep alive the good things in our lives. And that really makes me excited about being on the road and bringing these songs and wanting people to come to the show. Lord knows we all need to be just revived and encouraged and walk out of a place going yes ... 'I am glad I came. I am glad to be.'"

 Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com

On Twitter @ebalintREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: '90s pop music star Amy Grant coming to Canton Palace in September